Shinji The Unforgiving Savior
by Shadow of cobra
Summary: Shinji grows up in a place far less forgiving than his Aunt and Uncle's home, during his time in the city known as Filth he will find a power best left forgotten. Watch Shinji as he struggles to find what all humans desire... Companionship.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes. Chapter 1.

*This will mark the very beginning of my second story for ; if you compare this one to my only previous work on the site I'm sure you will notice a drastic improvement in quality upon multiple levels of readability. Aside from that, you can expect the same level and feeling of nihilism as well as vulgarity especially considering the universe that of which this story takes place in. I hope you enjoy the read.*

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Superduper awesome sauce incredibly distracting line break version 2.

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Shinji Ikari was a young man not typically known for being merciful, in fact quite the opposite, this claim was especially being proven true as the young man held up to full grown men from one of the local gangs by their necks, pressing them against the wall as a small crowd watched. The two brown haired men struggled intensely only to provide no relief to themselves.

Ordinarily, Shinji Ikari would've ignored them no matter what they would've done… However they had made a serious and quite possibly fatal mistake. They had involved him. More specifically they had involved him in an argument turned violent inside of a small restaurant within the dirty city he lived in.

At first Shinji had been minding his own business, ignoring the two men as they attempted to hustle their way out of their bill. However once one of the grubby scoundrels pushed the waitress backwards in an act of defiance and inadvertently caused her to spill several drinks on him they had sealed the deal.

For all intents and purposes they were screwed.

Although Mr. Ikari was only 15 years old that by no means diminished his physical strength. Most of it was unnatural of course, but that didn't stop him from exploiting it.

"All right Fuckers! I expect an apology from each of you!" Shinji yield angrily as he tightened his grip on both of the men causing the color on their faces to turn a unique shade of blue.

All he received in return was two week gargling sounds as they desperately struggled to breathe.

"I can't fucking hear you! What's a' matter! You were more than happy to scream and yell when you were trying to get a free meal from this dump!"

One of the men went limp in Shinji's grip causing him to raise an eyebrow disinterestedly, the other man followed suit shortly afterwards displaying a similar state of forced unconsciousness.

Upon losing his avenue to vent the misplaced anger he held inside he dropped both of the men roughly onto the poorly kept floor of the dingy establishment eliciting a soft THUD as both of them displayed a ragdoll effect.

Looking over at his half eaten meal and then to the frightened customers he decided it would be best for him to leave before someone called the police. Primarily because he really didn't want to have to kill another police officer today.

Placing the money on the table along with a slightly generous tip he angled himself towards the door while saying stoically.

"Sorry about the ruckus, but there shouldn't be a next time with those two." He said as he gestured towards the two men with crushed windpipes lying on the floor indignantly.

Pushing open the grimy reinforced door he made sure to leave behind no fingerprints as such had become a habit for him.

Shinji was in a good mood surprisingly, despite smelling of watered-down soda due to his most recent escapade. The money he had managed to acquire from his most recent slave trade had been far more than he had previously received. Not to mention he had more men working the streets than any other gang in the entire city.

If a seller that wasn't one of his own saw him on the street, they did one of two things; they ran very, very far away, or hid somewhere and hoped for the best.

One might ask the question, why be so afraid of an individual man when all you would need is a gun? This question had been answered wordlessly time and time again by Shinji's seemingly miraculous ability to sustain all but the most horrific of injuries and still manage to walk away. Although there had been several if not dozens of close calls, he had lived this long. An additional side effect of his unnatural strength and size was a nigh upon unholy ability to heal in an incredibly short amount of time.

Given these physical abilities one might speculate that the young man who is Shinji Ikari could be called a God among men… This was not something he himself could in all honesty claim. For despite his physical prowess, regardless of his unnatural abilities, no point be given to a third and unmentioned power.

Shinji was still alone, mentally at the very least.

If one asked he could reluctantly claim that he had no real family, no real friends, not a single person to rely on other than frightened allies who upon pain of death or even worse worked for him in order to keep his wallet stated.

The boy seemingly at peace walking down the disheveled streets of the city known as Filth could still, if he so chose, remember his horrific entrance to the beaten-down wasteland that he had begrudgingly begun to call his home.

Back before he had known a place as dirty as his city he was but a young boy no older than five years old. Abandoned by his father to live with his reluctant aunt and uncle; the very same aunt and uncle who treated him unkindly, as if a boy with no control over his situation had forced himself upon them and deliberately become a burden.

There were times when his mistreatment would go beyond harsh words and neglect, namely when his uncle became drunk and began lashing out at anything around him. Over the few months he had lived with them Shinji had learned to make himself scarce when his uncle pulled out a bottle of liquor.

However despite the abuse and the pain he went through with his aunt and uncle, just six short months after he had been living with them he learned of an even worse agony… The agony known as money. Being as young as he had been he knew not the value of the often times paper substance. However within his dysfunctional home it had been a serious problem.

Aside from his drinking habit his uncle had acquired several debts both throughout his life and through his failed business ventures. Because of this, many collectors, both by calm phone call and by violent home invasions had attempted to recuperate their own losses by taking anything of value from his aunt and uncle…

Unfortunately, in the city of Filth he was considered an object of value, especially at such a young age.

Impressionable, vulnerable, a clean slate... All of these were qualities both drug runners and slave traders kept on the lookout for when dealing with human merchandise.

He had been a victim of one such collection as a result of a particularly aggressive collector who had broken into his home one day and demanded that his uncle pay up or suffer consequences unmentionable. And in an extreme act of inhumane cruelty, his uncle had offered up the boy, the boy we know to be Shinji Ikari.

It wasn't nearly as traumatizing as when his father had abandoned him; he hadn't liked his aunt or uncle very much, so at the time he believed he was getting the better end of the deal.

Both his hopes and beliefs were viciously shattered once he had been cuffed to the inside of a beaten down van and had a burlap sack tied around his head.

He had asked who the men were and where they were taking him, pleaded even, pleaded for some type of explanation, some type of care or comfort.

All he received in return where bouts of mocking laughter and vicious sneers.

Once he had wrapped his young mind around the fact that he had been sold as a slave he immediately attempted any and all forms of rebellion. All of which were succinctly followed with a harsh beating coupled with near starvation.

After he had submitted to his circumstances the men who he had been purchased by explained to him that he would be running drugs and other such questionable materials throughout the entire city.

The man who taught him everything he needed to know, and quite easily the only man who Shinji had come to love and knowledge as a friend was a thin, red haired man named Draco. He had never given his last name; in fact, it was quite possible Draco wasn't his real name at all considering the strangeness of the title. But regardless Shinji had come to feel him as an older brother.

Draco had taught him how to steal, how to lie, how to fight, how to take a punch, how to avoid the police, which gangs territories he was allowed in, and most importantly, how to make a drop without getting shot.

Unfortunately, within the gang that had purchased Shinji , Draco was not a member with significant influence and often times Shinji was forced to deal with men who best be labeled as 'The scum of the earth.'

They would send him on runs into other gang's territories, where if he didn't successfully make the drop undetected, he would be killed without a second thought.

After he'd gone through his brutal initiation and learned all he needed to learn in order to survive in Filth Shinji had begun noticing things, things that a six-year-old boy should never see.

Women being forced to work in a brothel, regardless of age, men being silenced in the most unwholesome of manners, the effects that the drugs he ran had on their users. And worst of all, the overall and irreversibly deep-seated corruption throughout the entire system running the city known as Filth.

After a few years of hardening himself to these gruesome elements Shinji found himself simply not caring anymore, whether it be a man shot right in front of him, or a woman raped and ravaged directly before him.

It all stopped affecting him.

Although Draco had expressed his concern for Shinji's lack of expression the other gang members took advantage of it. Forcing him to perform hits on rival gangs, most of which involved poisoning someone or waiting in a dark corner in the middle of nowhere and shooting them in the back. After a while he had gained a bit of respect due to his cutthroat attitude and actions.

If one would've paid attention to the young boy during this stage in his life, they would notice that the only time even a ghost of a smile would appear on him would be when he was spending time with Draco. Regardless of the situation, be it recreational or 'business' Shinji found a connection with the 23-year-old man whom he viewed as his brother.

But unfortunately the city soon preformed one of its most common debacles.

It took the life of a human being.

More specifically Shinji's best friend and brother Draco.

All it took was a rivaling gang to simply see him on the street in their territory for them to start a fight, Shinji had been there, he had watched. He watched as the fight escalated into a horrific beating. And despite Draco's pleas for him to run he stayed and watched while being held by a man twice his size as the other men slit Draco's throat in a nasty display of brutality.

That had been the borderline for Shinji's sanity; his mind simply didn't register any fear, any restraint, and any sense of self-preservation… Not at the time.

In a tattered state of mind Shinji squirmed about and turned his head to bite down fiercely onto his captors forearm causing a massive chunk of flesh to be pulled and torn from the man's arm. Turning and tackling the bleeding man to the ground Shinji flailed his arms about in search of a weapon amongst the man's clothing, completely ignoring the Swift blows to his head and face he was receiving from his injured captor.

After reaching around the small of the man's back, he struck gold, literally. For the object he had grasped turned out to be a 357. caliber gold plated Desert Eagle. Screaming in the most bloodthirsty of animalistic rages Shinji tore the weapon from the man's possession and smashed the barrel into his chest pulling the trigger several times. The resounding GUSH! GUSH! GUSH! From the high-caliber pistol deafened him as the rounds bore their way through his previous captor's sternum and out of his spinal column effectively rendering him instantly dead.

Shinji turned around like an animal cornered and aimed the weapon at the four remaining men who had yet to draw any firearms of their own. All of them turned tail and ran. Releasing another bloodcurdling screech Shinji pulled the trigger another six times securing him only one kill from his mindless spamming of ordnance.

Still holding the weapon the young boy dropped to his knees and crawled over to the body of his fallen brother and screamed into the polluted sky. Tears falling as he picked up the body shakily and returned him to 'his' gang's hideout as fast as his young feet could muster.

After arriving at the supposed abandoned building where the leader of his gang dwelled he numbly presented the body of Draco to his leader along with the story of what had happened.

After demanding retribution on a scale of borderline genocide he was answered with a simple.

"No."

As a result the boy finally lost all form of sanity and violently lunged at the bald tattooed man before him.

The following beating had been the worst of his young life.

The next three years of his life consisted of him doing what he had been taught to do.

To steal.

To lie.

To kill.

And most importantly for the gang itself, to run drugs.

During those three years of Shinji's life he found himself simply dead on the inside, and so he contemplated killing himself on multiple occasions. He even attempted to do so several times only to back down at the last moment.

He found himself transporting more questionable items, particularly to a man who claimed to be a scientist named . Although he never questioned it due to his newfound lack of emotions, many of the other gang members found it particularly odd some of the things requested.

Most of the things he requested were nearly unheard of substances primarily consisting of a powder or liquid substance.

Never any drugs, simply a vast amount of unknown chemicals and the occasional piece of equipment.

Of course nobody in the gang complained considering the incredibly high payout. But as Shinji would find out, some of the things Dr. Melford was requesting should've been kept under wraps.

It was just another ordinary run for Dr. Melford that day; Shinji was 14 years old at the time. Wearing a blue backpack containing a cylindrical canister wrapped in brown paper. He was taking the least traveled roads and alleyways to Dr. Melford's so-called 'lab' in order to maintain the utmost of secrecy.

As Shinji was rounding a corner into an alleyway when he noticed three men in baggy clothes standing before him. Out of instinct Shinji turned around abruptly and attempted to walk away but found himself face-to-face with two more men wearing similar attire.

He was trapped.

He reached for the Desert Eagle that he had kept from Draco's killing and attempted to unholster it. But before he could so much as grasp the weapons grip he was seized by the collar of his shirt and slammed roughly into the wall.

"This is our part of town you little shit stain, wacha' think you doing around here?" Shinji provided no answer for several seconds causing the muscular dirty blonde holding him to slam him against the wall once more eliciting a cracking sound from within his backpack that only he Shinji had heard.

"Huh! Answer me fuck face! Or maybe you don't like having fingers!" the man asked as he removed one of his hands from Shinji's shirt and moved it over to his left arm where he then proceeded to bend back one of the fingers on Shinji's hand until it would go no further and even still applying more pressure.

Even after a loud SNAP! Was heard from his smallest digit Shinji made not even the slightest sound or movement, not even a wince.

None of it mattered to him anyway.

Seeing his lack of reaction the dirty blonde picked him up once more and slammed him onto the ground eliciting a full blown shattering sound from the inside of Shinji's backpack.

Suddenly Shinji felt dozens upon dozens of pinpricks into his upper back; at first he ignored it just as he had ignored all other forms of pain up until now. However this pain was different. He soon felt as if something was forcing its way inside of him through the multitude of holes in his back. He tried to fight it off until it began to burn immensely as his bloodstream circulated the fire through his system.

For the first time in three years he began to scream. Ignoring his assailants he began to wiggle and writhe on the ground until he flipped over only to find that once he did, more of the burning sensation splashed onto his back due to gravity.

Shinji began to convulse violently as his world began flashing colors and inverting rapidly.

Then he passed out. Unfortunately that was not the end the pain for Shinji, far from it. As he was unconscious the burning sensation became white-hot and coursed through his veins even faster as his heart rate spiked rapidly to levels most humans would consider incredibly unsafe.

Throughout the agony he felt a particularly distinguished bout of pain that coursed through his neck area. But it quickly subsided as is the entire world became even darker.

Shinji had awoke in the same alleyway he had fallen unconscious in, he found that his backpack had been thrown to the side of the alley; all of its pockets were wide open revealing a broken glass canister along with an orange liquid residue. He tried to stand but couldn't due to a massive careening headache.

Looking down he found that the front of his shirt and pants were covered in a massive amount of blood, he checked himself over briefly and found not a single visible injury. Dumbfounded, he tried to stand once more.

Once he had managed to finally gain his bearings he scuttled upwards and out of the alleyway only to go back to his gang leader in order to tell them what had happened.

After his headache had subsided halfway through his walk he found he was feeling significantly better than he had ever felt before. Alive, energetic, happy almost, however his feelings were short-lived once he explained the situation to Ron, the gang leader.

He had not been punished for what happened, no… Instead Ron gathered up his men and prepared for retribution. The very fact that he would expend resources on finding the culprits because of drug money and not the loss of a good man reawakened something within Shinji.

Anger…

A wave of painful memories washed over Shinji, being abandoned as a young child, being abused and resented by his aunt and uncle, being sold as a slave and shipped off to Filth, Draco being murdered right before his eyes, and finally… The same man who would refuse justice for Draco but would enact it for the simple matter of losing money.

The same man who had denied him justice for the only person he held dear.

And then his rage… Broke.

Using an ungodly strength he knew not he had he murdered both Ron and all of his men using either his hands or the gun he had kept with him. Shinji still to this day recalls to the utmost of satisfaction all of the tiniest details of their bloodthirsty and gruesome murders… All of them by his hands, the hands that had found a new strength, a strength that he would put to good use in the future.

Another year crept by and Shinji's physical growth exploded along with his extra abilities, by sheer accident one day he had grown angry and somehow caused a spastic burst at electricity to come from his body. Utterly shocked at what had just happened he tried again and again, repeating the results with similar success and found that this ability would stay with him for as long as his body could handle the strain. Upon later experimentation he found that the electricity he could generate was far more than necessary in order to kill an ordinary man in less than a few seconds.

Needless to say he was delighted to find such an unwholesome power in his arsenal, although it required physical contact or some sort of conductive material to successfully electrocute another object or person, it was an ability he flaunted regularly.

Using his power, his physical strength, and regenerative properties the 6 foot tall brown haired 15-year-old young man found himself rebuilding what Ron had created. And for all intents and purposes it could be called a business of sorts. The amount of effort it took to get the materials and keep them safe all the while finding area to sell them in safely was surprisingly exhausting, both physically and mentally.

However with his ability to intimidate and kill so readily available, he found that people would simply fall in line behind him as he gave the order.

And so we find him now, walking across the street with his hands in his pockets, deliberately neglecting to look both ways as he calmly and purposefully strode to his moderately sized apartment in the city of Filth.

He observed his patrons and sellers idly as he passed them by, giving them slight nods of approval as he passed them by along his walk. It'd been a long day; he had been forced to kill a police officer in an attempt to cover up a particularly large deal he had made between his gang and a large number of independent buyers who had decided to bunch up in order to maintain safety.

He was just across the street from the building his apartment was in when a man in a black suit and sunglasses walked over to him and asked a simple question.

"Shinji Ikari I presume?" The Brown headed glasses wearing man questiond formally.

"If you're asking you probably already know… So what do ya' want?" Shinji replied with, trying to keep a threatening tone out of his voice for now.

"This is for you." The man said calmly as he reached into his jacket causing Shinji to step back and reach for his firearm.

Only when the man produced a simple envelope with a red maple leaf adorning it did Shinji relax and snatch the letter out of his hand.

"You need anything else?" Shinji practically spat at the man.

"No Sir, I just came to deliver the message. I'll be on my way now, good day to you Mr. Ikari."

Shinji eyed the man warily as he walked away and rounded a corner. Once the odd suited man was out of eyesight Shinji tore open the envelope and then unfolded the piece of paper inside.

The letter read as such.

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**FROM: Cmdr. Ikari of Nerve, Tokyo 3.**

**COME.**

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Shinji read in disbelief the same two lines of text over and over again.

_My father… _Shinji thought to himself, completely flabbergasted.

However the feeling did not last long, for after all the time he had been left on his own, for Gendo to request his presence now…

He felt…

Numb…

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**To be continued…**


	2. Powerful confrontations

Shinji The Unforgiving Savior chapter 2.

*It's been awhile, that's all I can say really. I'm back for now despite everything; we'll see how it goes from here. Now that I am finally back and continuing this story I've come to the realization that I am in need of a beta, I do proofread (Multiple times damn it.) my own material and correct any mistakes I pick out, however it feels as if I need someone else to come and assist me with both finding typos and restructuring sentences that don't flow correctly. I'd like to get this out of the way before I get too many more chapters into the story. If anyone would like to volunteer please, I implore you, send me a message… Your services would be **greatly **appreciated.*

I apologize for not responding to reviews, but until someone asks a legitimate question I have very little to say other than thank you very much you wonderful fucking people. And while I'm on that note, I really hate to say this but… You bastards need to start reviewing more! Any and all input increases the quality (And quantity.) of the story, so get to it dammit.

In fact I will make a deal with you (And by you I mean the readers.) for every review given to this chapter and the ones following it I will be sure to include an extra 100 words towards both the plot and story in general, I will not just add filler, I will legitimately add-on to the next chapter and/or add descriptions and explanations.

And if I receive 20 reviews for this individual chapter, as well as all following it, not only will that result in an extra 2000 words for the next chapter but I will immediately update the next chapter within two days of the 20th review. (Assuming I already haven't.) Rest assured, I am obsessed with the quality of my material, so do not feel afraid that if too many reviews are given that I will just pump out a terrible chapter.

Also if I feel anyone is abusing the review section in order to force me to further my story… I will hate you for it… But I will be obligated to comply. I guess I'll just have to trust you guys for now…

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Superduper awesome sauce incredibly distracting line break version 2.

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Shinji stared at the woman before him, his never-ending scowl giving away nothing from his thoughts. She had introduced herself as Misato Katsuragi, he had determined her age was somewhere between the mid 20s to early 30s, but from the way she acted she seemed more like a vibrant teenager. Misato's purple hair swayed gently due to the way she exuberantly extended her hand in a cheerful greeting.

For a brief moment Shinji considered rejecting the handshake but instead opted for a more aggressive approach.

Shinji grasped her hand firmly for a moment and shook it politely, however as she moved to pull her hand away he tightened his grip into a nearly bone crushing vice.

"Where is he?..." He questioned sternly, while narrowing his eyes and deepening his scowl.

Misato gave a grimace of obvious discomfort and attempted to pull her hand back with even more force, but to no avail.

"OW! OW! OW! Where is who!? Christ! Let go will ya! You're gonna break my hand!"

Shinji ignored her plea and in return grit his teeth mildly, only to open his mouth once more and ask again.

"Where is he? Where is Ikari?" He questioned a second time, allowing anger to seep into his voice.

"You mean Commander Ikari? He's waiting at nerve headquarters probably sitting in his OW! Office right now!" Finally having his answer Shinji released her hand slowly and glared at her with an icy gaze.

"Take me to him." He demanded as Misato recoiled and rubbed her offended appendage sorely.

"You're not exactly one for conversation now are you?" Shinji ignored her question and continued to stare at her angrily. After a few awkward moments of silence Misato sighed loudly and motioned to the vehicle beside her.

"Fine, fine, get in Mr. grumpy pants we were headed there anyway so there's no reason to get mad."

Shinji took a minute to survey surroundings finally, he had previously been too absorbed in his self-induced obsession to confront his father to notice any details.

He was standing on the dull concrete sidewalk next to a myriad of tall and strikingly similar buildings, the streets appeared to be deserted. As if in testament to that fact, every traffic light in sight was blinking in a systematic pattern coupled with an announcement system declaring a state of emergency. Shinji reached his hand towards the handle of the blue sports car before him and slipped into the passenger seat, absentmindedly throwing his duffel bag into the back.

As Misato likewise entered the vehicle she reached under the driver's seat and produced an envelope only to quickly present it to Shinji after acquiring it.

"Here's your Nerve ID and the handbook that all employees working for Nerve need to memorize." She said cheerfully, the previous altercation seemingly forgotten.

Shinji tore open the envelope and secured the ID inside glancing over it with a concerned expression.

_How did they get a proper photo of me if I haven't been legally registered anywhere since I was with my Aunt and Uncle? _

Putting his thoughts aside he reached into his back pocket and opened his wallet in order to slip the ID card into one of the many slots. Shinji then looked down at the handbook with contempt… He didn't like reading, especially not something along the lines of an informational booklet, so for the time being he ignored it.

"Just drive." He said stoically as he settled himself into the seat. After several moments of the vehicle sitting at a standstill he looked over at Misato expectantly, only to find her looking at him with an equally expectant expression.

"Aren't you going to buckle your seatbelt?" She asked quizzically. Shinji continued to stare at her for a short while before grunting and complying.

Shortly afterwards the key was turned the vehicle started allowing them to speed down the empty streets of Tokyo three to their destination.

The ride was rather awkward considering the fact Shinji shot down all attempts at conversation by simply grunting at or outright ignoring all of Misato's attempts at small talk. That was until one question in particular sparked his interest.

"So what made you decide to come down here and work for your father?"

Shinji gripped his seat tightly at the mention of the man… With his thoughts half filled with a dull rage Shinji considered his answer.

"He would've just come and collected me had I stayed where I was." Misato gave him a thoughtful look, barely avoiding missing a turn during the time her eyes were off the road.

"Speaking of that, where were you living before now? There's very little information in your records."

Shinji remained indifferent as he answered.

"A city called Filth, a dreadful place really, but I like it."

The car swerved suddenly as if to avoid a small animal in the road, once the vehicle had straightened in it's path courtesy of it's haphazard driver it shifted towards the left lane. Once returned to the proper lane there was a resounding if not borderline screeching exclamation of-

"WHAT!? You came from that place!? Dear God boy, how are you still alive!?" Shinji allowed himself to turn slightly whilst answering.

"Determination." He offered as if it where the most obvious thing to be observed by all of mankind.

"Your father didn't pull you out of there?!" She screeched worriedly, causing Shinji to tense up angrily.

"My father doesn't give a damn about me!" He stated finally allowing a moderate amount of emotion into his voice and expression.

Misato's response was to simply sigh warily and turn her full attention to the road.

After Shinji's outburst all attempts at conversation were essentially shot down before they took flight, allowing an awkward silence to ensue. Shinji found it surprisingly comforting.

Just off of the woman's first impression he didn't too much like Misato… He found her upbeat attitude unfitting for someone her age, not to mention she couldn't keep herself from asking numerous questions…

All in all Shinji decided he would simply put up with her presence until he came into contact with his father… However that may turn out.

After several more minutes of reckless driving Misato finally pulled into an underground parking garage, then shortly afterwards, to Shinji's surprise, a vehicle lift which moved the vehicle diagonally downwards several hundreds of feet until it left the car parked in a compartment next to a series of hallways.

After a very long and confusing walk down a myriad of corridors and escalators the pair finally found themselves at what Misato claimed to be the correct elevator. As they entered it Shinji faintly heard Misato mumble something about being bitched at for being late but ignored it overall.

Then suddenly the elevator stopped, shortly afterwards the doors opened to reveal a blonde haired woman wearing a lab coat and oddly enough, a swimsuit underneath.

"R-Ritsuko!" Misato exclaimed nervously. "W-what are you doing here?!" The now identified Ritsuko crossed her arms coldly and entered the elevator.

"Still getting lost I see." She said in a nearly exasperated tone. After a halfhearted excuse from Misato the blond headed lady turned to Shinji for a moment only to look him up and down briefly and then return her attention to Misato.

"At least you got him here roughly on time." She stated dully as she turned her attention back to Shinji and began speaking once more.

"So you're the third child? Not at all what I expected." She reached her hand out in a stance that would be best described as a formal greeting. "My name is Dr. Akagi, nice to meet you."

Once again, Shinji remained motionless for a moment but nonetheless shook her hand. This time opting out of his opportunity to crush the unsuspecting appendage.

"Hnn…" Was his lame response.

The doctor blinked twice in mild surprise, seemingly taken aback by Shinji's blatant lack of respect.

"You're not at all what I expected you to be, but then again its hard to expect something when you aren't given any information." She stated while shrugging her shoulders.

Shinji finally turned his gaze to the woman fully and looked her in the eyes.

"You're not a natural blonde are you?… No, you're not. And I find it weird that you smell like the inside of a vehicle… Some type of coolant, perhaps? And the fact that you're wearing a swimsuit tells me you were probably swimming in the stuff… Maybe something along the lines of a large engine or machine?" He paused briefly and gripped his chin thoughtfully.

"And the way you walk, you walk as if you know something nobody else knows… A company secret perhaps? Something you can't let the public know? The reason I'm asking all these things is because you strike me as the type of person who would happily lie to me… I don't like being lied to, people that try to deceive me wind up dead."

The two females before Shinji simply stood there in shock…That was until Misato broke out with an upbeat observation.

"Wow, that's the most he's said the entire time I've been escorting him. I think he likes you Ritsuko!" she then playfully slapped the doctor on her shoulder in a painfully obvious attempt to defuse the awkward situation.

"Quite…" Was the doctor's only response.

A few moments later the elevator doors opened once more to reveal a narrow hallway. After both the ladies before him had exited Shinji himself moved to leave the elevator as well, following loosely behind them as they chatted idly.

It wasn't long until they stood before a rather imposing dull gray steel door in which Ritsuko had to swipe a card in order to open. When the door finally did retract into the wall a dark room was all that lay behind it, regardless both women in front of him proceeded into the unknown.

Shinji followed carefully, having to forcefully suppress the instinct to find a light source or exit the dark room. But just as his internal fight was about to force him to speak a blinding light clicked into existence above him.

Before him was a massive purple and green faceplate of what he could only comprehend as a giant humanoid robot. Surrounding it was the same coolant that he had smelled on Dr. Akagi. The narrow catwalk beneath him barely holding them above the thick looking purple fluid.

It took a large amount of self-control for Shinji to not react in surprise, but he managed to pull off an impassive face for the most part as he gazed into the closed eyes of the machine.

"This is humanity's last hope against the Angels… The Evangelion."

"Last hope against what?" Shinji couldn't help but ask confusedly.

"The Angels, a large alien life form that is bent on the destruction of humanity… Now that's something you won't find in the handbook… Not that you read it or anything." She said the last part with a mild dose of pretended disappointment.

"I find this rather hard to believe." Shinji stated bluntly. Misato's face became serious since the first time he had seen the woman. Her eyes narrowed and her stature straightened.

"One of them will be here soon, you'll believe it soon enough." Shinji looked back up at the monstrosity before him, an idea forming in his head.

"Well either way it's certainly impressive, is this what my… father… has been working on." He asked as he reluctantly acknowledged the other half of his DNA as one of his parents.

As if on cue, a voice further down the catwalk sounded out loud and clear, full of authority and a tone that Shinji would never be able to forget… No matter how long he lived.

"Yes it is, I'm glad you like it… Son." Shinji's eyes shot wide-open when the man's voice reached his ears, every muscle in his body tensed painfully as his mind quickly began a line drive towards a rage filled state. He snapped his head violently towards the source of the man… His father, Gendo Ikari.

"Ikari…" He spat viciously as his angry gaze tore through the purple haired woman between him and his most hated figure.

A long silence ensued.

Shinji briefly considered electrocuting the entire catwalk in order to kill the man on the spot, even if it did kill the two women at the same time… But he wanted answers, or at the very least a half assed excuse in which he would use to justify his killing of the man before him even further.

"Why?" His voice sounded hoarse, even to him.

"You will pilot it. You will stop the Angels. Son."

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THAT!" Shinji finally exploded. "I want to know why you abandoned me! I want to know why you didn't pull me out of that god-awful shit hole of a city after my Aunt and Uncle disposed of me! I want to know why you mother Fucker!"

"I was busy." Shinji's entire world shook with a boiling rage that threatened to rip his soul apart with just the slightest twitch in the wrong direction. He could feel every cell in his body vibrate with the most vicious and malicious intent towards his father.

"That's all!? That's fucking it?" Shinji screamed in absolute fury. "You were too fucking busy to keep your only son from being sold as a God damned slave to the most horrific and unwholesome scum of the entire earth!?"

His rage was nigh upon palpable, the air practically permeated with his absolutely seething anger.

It was then his resolve finally broke, he made one fluid motion behind his back and produced his gun immediately aiming it at the man who was supposed to have raised him.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you where you stand!?" There was an audible _**click**_ as the safety on the high-caliber weapon was forcefully shoved into the off position.

"Shinji! Put the gun down!" Misato exclaimed in a state of panic, Ritsuko simply hugged onto the railing in absolute terror for all she was worth.

Gendo made a very slow and deliberate movement to the small of his back, reaching under his formal attire to produce a smaller handgun. Gendo Ikari slowly raised his weapon, all the while Shinji was goading his father on.

"That's it! Shoot me! Give me a better reason to hate you! Give me an even better reason to end your pathetic existence!"

Gendo's weapon was never pointed at Shinji, instead it slowly drifted upwards towards the man's own head until it firmly rested on his temple.

The sheer and total shock Shinji felt from the gesture caused his resolve to falter slightly.

"I regret every second of it… But in a few hours you will learn the true reason why I was forced to abandon you… Even if you kill me." There was a short pause.

The air was stifling.

Nobody moved, nobody breathed.

Nobody dared interject for fear of sparking the powder keg that was currently Shinji Ikari.

That was until Gendo finally spoke again.

"Or maybe I should just do it myself." He stated solemnly as he slowly began pulling the trigger.

Shinji's eyes bulged even wider as he made his move, directing his own weapon at Gendo's firearm he pulled the trigger once resulting in an earsplitting _**GUSH! **_That echoed throughout the enormous room with the force of a thousand suns.

A quieter clatter of shredded metal resounded on the catwalk as Gendo's destroyed firearm bounced off the metal flooring.

"NO! I'm the only one who is allowed to take your life!" Shinji readjusted his gun until it's sights were directed firmly on his father's forehead… He tried to pull the trigger, forcibly willing his body to respect his impulses…

But something stopped him; it was not an external force of any kind… Something internal prevented him from killing the man he had absolutely loathed throughout the vast majority of his life.

_Dammit! Why can't I kill the bastard! Just shoot him! He's right fucking there!_

Shinji's resolve wavered even further as he lowered his weapon and a quick jerky movement and screamed out with a bloodcurdling shout.

"GAHHHHH! FUCK!" He dropped to his knees and punched the catwalk, splitting his knuckles and leaving a massive dent in the metal.

He couldn't do it, for some inexplicable reason he couldn't pull the trigger on the man directly in front of him. Even though every fiber of his being yearned, if not absolutely demanded that the bastard lay as a mangled corpse at his own feet. He just couldn't force himself to do it.

Shinji held his own head while hunching over dejectedly, everything he had ever wanted was right there in front of him just waiting to be taken, and yet he felt so weak and powerless to grasp it.

After several short minutes is of withholding his tears, Shinji felt a hand on his shoulder which caused him to look up confusedly, and almost expectantly. His eyes met those of Misato Katsuragi. Her deep brown eyes exuding an almost understanding form of kindness and worry as she knelt down beside him.

"It's okay Shinji, you're here now, everything's going to be all right." She said affectionately, with all the caring and kindness that a mother would have. One of the many things Shinji had been denied his entire life.

For a moment, Shinji just stared back at her… Dumbfounded that anyone would express these types of emotions towards him, especially after his most recent outburst. He had expected violence in return for his actions… But instead receiving a soothing sort of understanding from the woman.

Several gears in Shinji's mind clicked into place at that very time.

"I'll pilot it." His voice sounded strained, something he was unaccustomed to he realized as he averted his gaze towards the floor, forcing himself to focus on a scratch on the side of his weapon that had once belonged to the man he had considered a brother.

It was a very short pause before Gendo spoke again.

"It's here." Was his cryptic statement.

Not one second afterwards a bone rattling quake rocked the entire facility, causing the reinforced metal the room was made of to creak and groan as a form of protest. In one of the distant corners of the room a piece of metal fell and clattered noisily onto the floor, snapping Shinji out of his stupor.

"What do I need to do?" he asked, this time he spoke with a bit more confidence in his voice.

"Dr. Akagi, sort Unit 1 for standby… Launch will be imminent." Gendo resolutely ordered.

"You can't be serious, we don't have a suitable pilot! And Unit 1 refuses to sync with anyone!"

Gendo pushed up his glasses as he turned to leave, ignoring his destroyed firearm as he stepped over it.

"My son will have to be the one to pilot it; he will have to be our unforgiving savior… If not, all is lost." Gendo said solemnly as he exited the room just as quietly as he had entered.

The next thirty minutes went by as a blur for Shinji, a flurry of shouts and activity surrounded him as he was ushered to a room in a direction which he barely took notice of. Misato had attempted to confiscate his firearm throughout the confusion, to which he had the state of mind to steadfastly refuse as he was directed up a small flight of stairs into a cylindrical pod like construction.

As he was seated inside the cylinder he unconsciously took hold of the pistol grip joysticks in front of him. Soon after the pod lurched forward, shortly followed by a sharp hiss as the container was pressure sealed.

He barely noticed as the container slowly filled with an orange liquid, not until it had made it to his neck did he cry out in shock.

"Hey what the fuck is this shit!?" He demanded to no one in particular, his voice having an odd hallowed effect due to the state of the nearly filled pod.

"Just breathe normally Shinji, this is LCL fluid. Once it's in your lungs it will act just like ordinary air and provide oxygen for you.

Shinji couldn't help but choke several times as he attempted to fill his lungs with the strange fluid, and despite his survival instincts he succeeded.

_Tastes like blood…_

He observed dryly as he finally managed to level out his breathing to a normal state.

Another enormous quake rocked the entire facility but the fluid around him dampened the vibrations adding another surreal feeling to his currently numb state of mind.

Then suddenly, the area in front of him lit up in a fantastic display of lights and imagery. Shortly afterwards a screen was produced directly before him.

"This is your target." Said the voice of Ritsuko through an internal intercom system. The massive humanoid like creature had two pointy bone like structures on its shoulders and an odd external and distended rib cage. Topped off with an absurd multipronged mask with eyeholes, assumedly made of the same material as its ribs and shoulders.

"It is designated as Sachiel, the third angel." She explained. "Your objective is to engage and destroy its core which appears to be located in the center of it's chest." Shinji assumed she was speaking of the spherical red object held at the top of its torso.

"Understood." He stated weekly. "When do I kill it?"

"You're cleared for launch now, standby." A series of checks and loud mechanical noises followed after the doctors answer. As soon as Shinji had heard-

"Unit 1 launch!" Over the intercom, the EVA sprung upwards in a fantastic display of vertigo. Shinji had to force back the urge to yell due to the forces applied against him. But just as he had finally let loose a little bit of a grunt, the force stopped suddenly and jerked to a bone jarring halt.

All throughout container was a roughly 180 degree view of his surroundings, but what startled him most was the fact that he could literally **see** everything as if he were viewing it through **his own eyes**. Another short but no less violent jump came from the machine freeing his arms for use. He made a motion to hold his head in response to the vertigo that followed the ascension and to his complete and utter surprise the machine's arm moved up to mimic his exact movements.

_Is that how I fucking control this thing, with my flippin' mind!?_

He wondered euphorically. Just as he had that thought, the felt an odd feeling nagging at the back of his mind, it's presence dully acknowledging his own. Another mind with all of the vicious and wild power of a savage beast… Something not overly intelligent, but far from something stupid.

He raised his head upwards and viewed his surroundings in full, before him laid a partially destroyed city. Buildings before him were absolutely wrecked and devastated, almost as if they had been randomly picked to be demolished and had never been rebuilt.

A large blazingly lucid fire lined the horizon, and through the fire he could see the face of his new, inhuman enemy.

The third angel.

* * *

**To be continued…**


End file.
